TNAG-1972-FCO40-2805-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-repatriation-1989 — Page 81

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Your reference

P$1989

Our reference

i

Date 14 March 1989

A Godson Esq

SEAD

FCO

Jea

Town

REFUGEE POLICY GROUP REPORT ON VIETNAMESE REFUGEES IN SOUTH

EAST ASIA

1.

I enclose a copy of a draft report by the above group which has been sent to me with the opportunity to make any "off the record" comments I wish by 1 April.

2. From a quick skim, the draft report does not seem too bad from Hong Kong's point of view. The description of Hong Kong's screening/repatriation policy (pages 3/4) is a little compressed. But the description of the agreement with UNHCR on repatriation (page 22) seems straightforward. The report's conclusions are lame, and I imagine that we would want in particular to take issue with the proposition that the principle of first asylum should be "delinked" from the commitment by countries outside the region to resettlement.

3. I doubt that we could persuade the group to take this point out of their report. And indeed there is no obligation on us to provide any comments at all. But if there were points in the draft report on which you thought it was worth our registering a view, I should be grateful for guidance.

Ye ever,

PF Ricketts

Del Ricketts

CC:

Hong Kong Dept, FCO

Mr Hansen, Refugees Coordinator, Hong Kong UKMis Geneva

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